The coronavirus pandemic has taken a lot away from us, but fortunately, the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest is an unstoppable force of nature and will still grace our July 4th weekend in 2020.
Things will be a bit different this year, however. For starters, it will be held in “a private location with COVID-19 safety measures in place.” It will also be held without a live audience, in contrast with the usual raucous event held at Coney Island every summer since it became an official event in 1972.
But the really big news this year is that for the first time ever you can legally bet on the contest through DraftKings Sportsbook.
Betting on This Year’s Contest on DraftKings Sportsbook
Bettors can wager on the winner, or even the number of hot dogs participants will scarf down. The inimitable Joey Chestnut, this year going for his 14th championship, is heavily favored to win it all at -1000, with any other participant sitting at +550 as of this writing.
Chestnut holds the world record, which he set in 2018 when he ate 74 hot dogs (and buns) in 10 minutes. Over/under lines are being taken on both 74.5 and 72.5 hot dogs (-162 over/+125 under for 72.5; +140 over/-182 under for 74.5).
On the women’s side, Miki Sudo, undefeated since 2014, is looking for her seventh straight title. She’s the heavy favorite at -835 with any other participant at +500 as of this writing.
Sudo is the women’s world record holder, eating an impressive 41 hot dogs and buns at the 2017 contest. DraftKings Sportsbook has an over/under line for Sudo set at 40.5 hot dogs, with -150 for the over and +115 for the under.
You can tune in to watch the Kosher links fly on Saturday, July 4 starting at noon ET on ESPN.
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